Abstract:
A series of photocatalysts of un-doped, single-doped and co-doped nanometer titanium diox-ide (TiO
2) have been successfully prepared by template method using Fe(NO
3)
3·9H
2O, La(NO
3)
3·6H
2O, and tetrabutyl titanate as precursors and glucan as template. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and N
2 adsorption-desorption measurement were em-ployed to characterize the morphology, crystal structure and surface structure of the samples. The photo-absorbance of the obtained catalysts was measured by UV-Vis absorption spec-troscopy, and the photocatalytic activities of the prepared samples under UV and visible light were estimated by measuring the degradation rate of methyl orange in an aqueous solu-tion. The characterizations indicated that the prepared photocatalysts consisted of anatase phase and possessed high surface area of ca. 163-176 m
2/g. It was shown that the Fe and La co-doped nano-TiO
2 could be activated by visible light and could thus be used as an effective catalyst in photo-oxidation reactions. The synergistic effect of Fe and La co-doping played an important role in improving the photocatalytic activity. In addition, the possibil-ity of cyclic usage of co-doped nano-TiO
2 was also confirmed, the photocatalytic activity of codoped nano-TiO
2 remained above 89.6% of the fresh sample after being used four times.